French Intelligence uncovers another massive Russian disinformation network
French authorities announced Wednesday that they have identified nearly 80 disinformation campaigns orchestrated by Russian actors between August 2023 and March 2025. These efforts primarily targeted Ukraine and its Western allies, including France, and were deemed a “significant threat” to democratic discourse in Europe.
According to Viginum, the French agency responsible for monitoring foreign digital interference, the campaigns formed part of a larger operation dubbed “Storm-1516”. The operation leveraged artificial intelligence to fabricate credible-looking social media profiles, recruited paid amateur contributors, and disseminated anti-Ukrainian and anti-Western narratives across digital platforms.
“The European public debate is under sustained assault from Russian disinformation efforts, often amplified by elements of the American far-right,” said French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot in a statement to AFP. He added that Russian entities also attempted to interfere in France’s 2024 legislative elections.
A diplomatic source further described “Storm-1516” as part of a broader Kremlin-led information war designed to destabilize European unity and democratic institutions.
Viginum’s report also highlighted the role of fringe influencers—particularly figures aligned with the American far-right and pro-Russian activists—in spreading falsehoods. One prominent example is Adrien Bocquet, a former French soldier now based in Russia, who has reportedly played a key role in amplifying Kremlin-backed narratives.
Some of the disinformation includes fabricated stories such as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky allegedly purchasing a former Nazi building in Germany or a luxury hotel in Courchevel. These claims have been debunked by AFP’s digital fact-checking team, with investigations published on AFP Factuel.
The campaigns haven’t only targeted Ukraine. Viginum noted that France and other Western allies were also frequent subjects of misinformation. Earlier analyses by the disinformation-monitoring group NewsGuard linked the Storm-1516 network to highly provocative, AI-generated content—such as a fabricated video of a Chadian migrant confessing to the rape of a 12-year-old girl in France, and another falsely accusing Brigitte Macron, the wife of President Emmanuel Macron, of sexual assault.
The findings underscore the growing sophistication and reach of Russian disinformation operations, and the challenges democracies face in protecting the integrity of public discourse.